A durable anti-corrosion and anti-fouling polyurea coating with oil-infused superhydrophobic diatomaceous earth@SiO2 cells

Abstract

Slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS) have excellent hydrophobicity, low adhesion, and self-healing, showing potential applications prospects in the fields of self-cleaning, anti-corrosion, anti-biofouling, and drag reduction. However, the current SLIPS surface has problems such as complicated preparation process and easy loss of lubricant, which seriously restricts its practical application. In this paper, hydrophobic modified superhydrophobic diatomaceous earth@SiO₂ cell loaded with silicone oil were firstly prepared, and then mixed with polyurea resin and curing agent to prepare a novel slippery lubricated oil-infused anti-corrosion and anti-fouling polyurea coating (SLIC).The impedance modulus (|Z|_0.01Hz) of the SLIC-coated Q235B steel plate in simulated seawater (3.5 wt% NaCl aqueous solution) reaches 10¹⁰ Ω·cm² order of magnitude; Additionally, the glass samples coated with SLIC coatings showed only 0.18 % bacteria coverage rate after 72 hours of incubation in E. coli culture solution, and only 0.10 %, 0.29 % and 0.53 % coverage of Chlorella after 5, 10 and 15 days of incubation in Chlorella culture solution. The SLIC coatings are also simple to prepare, low-cost, and versatile, with excellent robustness, durability and self-cleaning, thereby presenting potential application prospects in the fields of ships and marine engineering.